FedEx (NYSE:FDX) Trading 0.9% Higher

FedEx Co. (NYSE:FDX)’s stock price rose 0.9% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $271.61 and last traded at $270.11. Approximately 209,337 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 2,107,542 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

FDX has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of FedEx from $327.00 to $351.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, March 22nd. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of FedEx in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of FedEx from $346.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Melius raised shares of FedEx from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Bank Of America (Bofa) upped their price target on shares of FedEx from $330.00 to $334.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $301.33.

FedEx Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 1.31 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $257.89 and its 200-day simple moving average is $254.05. The company has a market capitalization of $65.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.27, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.21.

FedEx (NYSE:FDX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 21st. The shipping service provider reported $3.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.49 by $0.37. FedEx had a net margin of 5.02% and a return on equity of 16.60%. The company had revenue of $21.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.41 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that FedEx Co. will post 17.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

FedEx Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 11th were paid a $1.26 dividend. This represents a $5.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 8th. FedEx’s payout ratio is presently 29.07%.

FedEx announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, March 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the shipping service provider to reacquire up to 7.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at FedEx

In related news, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other FedEx news, CEO Sriram Krishnasamy sold 354 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.19, for a total transaction of $102,373.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 11,147 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,223,600.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Frederick W. Smith sold 113,400 shares of FedEx stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.30, for a total value of $31,105,620.00. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 14,505,844 shares in the company, valued at $3,978,953,009.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 136,668 shares of company stock worth $37,758,773. Company insiders own 8.73% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On FedEx

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FDX. Sentry LLC acquired a new stake in FedEx during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,811,748,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $700,291,000. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new position in shares of FedEx in the third quarter valued at approximately $496,611,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 29.1% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,063,938 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,076,619,000 after acquiring an additional 916,555 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of FedEx by 15.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,667,462 shares of the shipping service provider’s stock valued at $1,686,738,000 after acquiring an additional 880,894 shares during the last quarter. 84.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About FedEx

FedEx Corporation provides transportation, e-commerce, and business services in the United States and internationally. It operates through FedEx Express, FedEx Ground, FedEx Freight, and FedEx Services segments. The FedEx Express segment offers express transportation, small-package ground delivery, and freight transportation services; and time-critical transportation services.